Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's visit to Fort Rucker will give the Pentagon chief the opportunity to thank Army aviators for their hard work, Department of Defense officials said.

DOD announced yesterday Hagel will be visiting Fort Rucker and the U.S. Army Aviation Center for Excellence Thursday as part of a three-state tour of Southeastern military installations. Fort Rucker will be the secretary's final stop and will give him a chance to "highlight the Army's aviation restructure initiative, and to thank Army aviators for their hard work over 13 years of demanding operations that include airlift, close air support and casualty evacuation," Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

"Throughout this trip, the secretary will highlight and see firsthand some of the core capabilities that he prioritized in our budget submission earlier this year to ensure that our force is ready, agile, modern and effective to confront the full range of challenges that we'll face in the future," Kirby said.

Hagel's first stop will be at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in southeastern Georgia. The base is home to some of the Navy's Ohio-class ballistic and guided-missile submarines.

"The secretary has made a longstanding personal commitment to the health of our nuclear force and has made it one of his highest priorities to ensure that the United States maintains a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrence force," Kirby said.

Hagel will then travel to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, home to the Air Force's first full squadron of F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft and is where the next generation of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps F-35 pilots and maintainers are being trained.

Hagel's visit comes at a pivotal time for the F-35. The Navy and Air Force have both grounded the plane in response to a runway fire that occurred May 23 at Eglin. Additional inspections of the F-35 have been ordered and it won't return to flight until that work is done, the Pentagon said.

"The secretary's visit, particularly at this time, sends a strong message to our international partners that the United States remains fully committed to the F-35 program," Kirby said.